VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — The show indeed must go on, but for three years after Hurricane Ian's devastation, the Jervey stage remained in disrepair.

Thursday, Venice Theatre leaders, along with volunteers and community members, cheered as crews hoisted a crepe myrtle tree to the top. This tradition signaled the beginning of the next phase of rebuilding the 1926 theater.

“There's so many of you that gave so much, and there's a lot of you that gave a little," Venice City mayor Nick Pachota said. "And it doesn't really matter what amount. It matters that we all came together as a community and made this happen." It’s not curtain call just yet, meaning act two for the theater's reconstruction still needs funding. Despite another million-dollar donation from the city and yet another $400,000 from

See Full Page